Betrayal at Calth - New pictures

Box Art. Ultramarines vs Word Bearers. Lets hope the models are not specific to the two legions...

Plastic contemptor with what appears to be Multi Melta and Keres Assault Cannon

The game itself is rumored to be an adaption from the popular Space Hulk. Its apparently designed to be an entry into the 30k Heresy era conflict.

The box set is played on tiles just like any other stand alone game. A few rumours are circulating talking about further or future releases of plastic Heresy era kits dependent on demand.

This looks to be an easy sell to many, and I can see why many people think the plastics will be released in the future as seperate kits. It makes a lot of sense when you look at the releases from Forgeworld recently focusing on upgrade kits for Mk III & IV marines.

The Mk IV armour frame pics leak a few months back show an equally complex kit in grey plastic not unlike the Mk VII kits, as opposes to the snap fit and coloured plastic often found in stand alone boxed sets.

This may well be my first GW purchase in 4 months. Just when you thought you where out... (Forgeworld addictions not included...)

Betrayal at Calth - New GW Horus Heresy Game!

Pre orders on the 7th, released on the 14th

Its official, the new boxed set this year is Betrayal at Calth.

Betrayal at Calth

Black Library announcement

We are delighted to announce today, the biggest thing to come out of Black Library since the Horus Heresy: a new event series on a galactic scale the like of which no Warhammer 40,000 series has ever approached before. 

Clear your reading list for 2016, because ‘The Beast Arises’ is going to be huge.
Follow the links below to learn more about the upcoming event, set your reminder for the new series, and even pre-order the eBooks of the first few volumes from iBooks. 

http://www.blacklibrary.com/the-beast-arises.html 

https://itunes.apple.com/WebOb…/MZStore.woa/…/viewMultiRoom…

 Sounds interesting... The Horus Heresy is a tough act to follow.

Team NZ ETC 2016 Captain's selection underway

The 2016 ETC will be held in Athens Greece on 5th to 7th August or 12 to 14 (most likely the 5/7)
Playing 9th Age

The first stage to putting together a team is selection of a Captain. This is undertaken by last years team who review applications and make their selection

The new Captain then runs the team selection process ie convene a selection panel and seek nominations from interested players

So to start can those interested in the 2016 captaincy please email me at katatt@bigpond.com
The deadline for applications being 7pm NZT on the 14 October 

I do not intend to apply for the Captains roll 

Cheers Chris

Athens is a beautiful city, and the Greek Islands are only a few hours away on the ferries. 

The ETC community has voted to bring in "The 9th Age" as the rule system to replace the now unsupported WHFB 8th edition, with Age of Sigmar almost unanimously being voted down. Full details on the rules can be found on the 9th Age website. 
If you are interested in the captaincy for 2016 please email Chris.

A big thanks to Chris for all his efforts over the past few years!

Total War: Warhammer Dwarfs vs OnG game play

As release day gets closer, The makers of Total War have released some pre Alpha game play of the Dwarfs gaining a narrow victory over the Orcs and Goblins.

I can see myself losing several months of hobby time exploring this game. 

It still does my head in that this game is being released after Games Workshop canned WHFB. There was a large influx of 40k players from the Dawn of War series, and one would expect that Total Wars offering would have had a similar effect... 

Oh! My bad. I forgot that Games Workshop don't make games, its a model company...

Classic Tui add there.

Tau release next. Pictures leaked

Warhammer visions reveals a new Tau (supposedly super heavy) battlesuit. This will likely bring an end to the torment of watching Games Workshop preform ritual suicide in the Fantasy genre with its Age of Sigmar.

Hopefully they can use this time to go back to the drawing board and re-write the rules to something that their (dwindling) customer base actually wants! To much to ask I know.

Mechanicus Ordinatus preview

Previews at Forgeworld Amsterdam Open Day show the new Mechanicus Ordinatus in its Mars pattern all painted up.

The perfect way to suppliment your Taghmata army

Games Workshops new Airbrush Paint range...

The rumors where true, Games Workshop is releasing a range of 51 airbrush paints... in their stupid flip top pots. WORST MOVE EVER!

Who in there right mind made this decision? Dropper bottles are a (well almost it seems) a no brainer when it comes to airbrushing. Controlling the amount of paint in the brush is essential. 

It seems increasingly odd coupled to the new marketing approach (with AoS) alienating all the existing older fan base, essentially the ones who would own or use an airbrush. I can't imagine many 14 year olds. Must be aimed at 40k tanks...

And it seems according to the blurb the paints are "great for base coating" your models. The wastage that will be seen from using pipettes is obviously the plus side for GW, as they will sell more. Marketing genius! 

We recently seen Forgeworld go down the same route introducing an airbrush paint range aimed at their 30k line, once again in flip top pots. I have actually purchased a few of the clear paints to cover some gaps in my selection, but promptly put them into dropper bottles.

With such a huge range of airbrush paint available already in dropper bottles aimed specifically at the scifi/fantasy gaming community such as Vallejo Game Air and Badger Minitaire ranges, which are developed by airbrush professionals, the market appears saturated.

Not to mention the even larger range of 'true colours' aimed more at historical gamer's, model kit builders and dioramas from industry specialists such as Vallejo Model Air, AK Interactive and MIG productions. 

All these well established brands make excellent paints. I have tried all of the mentioned ranges and can recommend any of them for quality, consistency and price (it works out about half the price for the same volume). The Vallejo Model Air metallics are some of the best in the market, and I use much of the paints I have for brush work as well as air.

Vallejo also do an extensive primer and auxiliary range in sizes from 18ml to 200ml containers, including polyurethane primers, airbrush cleaners, acrylic thinners, flow aids, masks, varnishes etc

And guess what, all of them are in dropper bottles...

Games Workshops new range will need to be a cut above the rest to make up for the shortfall of not being in dropper bottles, not to mention double the price...

Celestant Prime pictures leak + hobby update

The Celestant Prime, first among Sigmars warriors, wielding Ghal Maraz his very own weapon, and the Celestial Rod which turns him into Teto'eko on steroids!

Love it or hate it, AoS is receiving a lot more love these past few months than most other games do in years. Now if only Games Workshop would actually write a decent tactical game with a balancing mechanism.... don't hold your breath, they hate us. They don't want us recruiting new players into the hobby for them anymore...

In other news, White Dwarf has gone digital on an iPad app, and can now be had for less than half the cost of a paper copy. $3.79 per weekly issue or $10.99 for a 4 week subscription.

Warhammer 9th age is starting to get some traction, with the usual culprits involved with ETC/Swedish/various comp systems having input into the first draft (version 0.1). 

Warhammer 8.5 and other various renditions seem to wax and wane dependent on the time of day, with many attempts at 'fixing' 8th already being tried. The question begs to differ, if it needed so much fixing, then why where people not already re-writing it? Short of comp nothing of the sort really had effort thrown at it.

Around the globe, several AoS events have had their time in the sun, with Clash an example being held in the UK this past weekend with 60 in attendance. No real word yet on the scope of its success from a competitive perspective but word on the street was games tended to be decided on the first double turn swings.

A little closer to home, my blog has been a bit quieter this past month not because of lack of interest, but more due to work and a little computer game called World of Warships taking up far too much time. Seriously good fun cruising around in a Yamato class Battleship!

Also, hobby room (well, man/wardollie cave) 2.0 is nearing completion. Just awaiting a few more paint racks and book cases to arrive. Pictures to come. One thing for sure, I have way to many paints...

Not enough SKULLS

Just when you were thinking there where not enough skulls, GW fixes that for you....

While you where sleeping, Forgeworld updated their Webstore

While you where sleeping, Forgeworld updated their Webstore into a format similar to the Games Workshop store, making it a lot easier to navigate.

In among all this is a nice new limited edition Legion Centurion in Mk III armour!

In addition to this for the next 6 weeks every order over £100 will get free shipping.

I hope the £100 threshold becomes a regular feature, as the existing £200 puts people in my country into the expensive duty, taxes and fees range...

ETC 2015 Fantasy final results are in

Full results are in and a big congratulations to Germany for taking the top spot in both WHFB and 40K. Poland and Italy round out the top performers.

A good effort from team NZ finishing in 27th after a narrow loss to the Ukraine 79-81 in the last round. Also well done to our Cousins across the ditch coming in an all mighty 10th place!

There was no game between NZ and AU this year, and since we always win that match I guess NZ has been sorting them out previously.

We also see our warm up partner Singapore finish in a respectable 16th. Newcomers Argentina are also up in 18th ahead of USA! who finished 19th. Did not see that coming...

AoS moves into new Khorne range and Skaven repacks

This week we see new Khorne models released in a similar fasion to the Sigmarites, expanding the existing range that was introduced with the Age of Sigmar boxed set. We should be expecting further additions to the range over the next few weeks.

In addition we see some more of the existing range, this time Skaven, re-packed into the new white boxes and with round bases only. I hear we are to expect a lot of this repacking to happen in conjunction with other releases as Games Workshop re-brands the WHFB range into AoS. 

It may be a good indication of what models in the current line up will continue and what will be dropped moving forward

 

The next part of the Realm Wars campaign book picks up from the end of the last, where Ghal Maraz is discovered in the realm of metal at the heart of a Tzeentch fortress. A minor Tzeentch character wants to use it to merge the realm of metal with the realm of chaos and curry favour with Tzeentch. Sigmar, of course wants it back!

Mk IV Horus Heresy era PLASTIC Space Marines!

WOW... The rumours were true...

A Titan Story - Part 7

I've finally made some progress on painting the Titans...

Its only been two years...

Nothing like a tournament to get the motivation humming. 

I ended up going with Legio Crucius, or the Warmongers over Fire Wasps. Something a little different, plus the legion has sworn pacts of fealty to Imperial Fist and one or two other Space Marine Chapters... to be continued

The Pro's and Con's of Age of Sigmar

So I have been spending more than enough time mulling over the new Age of Sigmar. It has a lot going for it, but in saying that, it also has a lot not in its favour.

I have attempted to make a list of my personal pro's and cons as I weigh up investing in this new game, or look else where.

I post this in the hope it may help some other people decide, or even help me decide.

So first up, the models:

Pro's
Very technically good sculpts are dynamic and simple to assemble
New ideas refresh the stale WHFB setting
High Fantasy setting as opposed to Low Fantasy enabling much more scope in design
Scale - larger models allow for easier painting and application of advanced techniques
Round bases allow better positioning of models and conversions
New Aesthetic and new Sigmar faction (my personal taste is it has grown on me)

Con's
Scale - new larger scale will make existing models look small by comparison
New models look to be more expensive per unit
Square bases and round bases mixed together look odd - will need to re-base old range eventually


Next up is the rules:

Pro's
Simplified ruleset - no longer 150 pages to sift through for rules
Individual warscrolls - everything you need to use a unit in one place
Keywords!!!
Everything has new rules which should help make all things on a level playing field
More versatile formations - without ranks you can create squares, arrows, shield walls etc
Unrestricted movement means more terrain and more terrain influence

Con's
No points - the obvious one
No balancing system - balancing dosn't have to be just points. Think rare/core %
The dumbing down of the rules. There's simple, then there's dumb.
No more ranking of troops. It was and is a draw card for some.
Less tactical movement - charges in any direction and no facings hurt the game
No interaction between models - I don't care if you are the best swordsman in the world, I still hit you on 3's...


And last but not least, community:

Pro's
Opportunity to grow the fantasy community
New players
Several of my 40k friends have been eyeing up AoS
Grumpy existing community - Much rage, many quit

Con's
Grumpy existing community - Much rage, many quit
Tournament scene is getting massive shake-up 
Most likely less players initially, time will tell us if player numbers increase.

This is just a brief list that I have come up with, and no doubt there are many more reasons to add.

In the end, my conclusions are the model range and scope of the "hobby" side has dramatically increased in its attraction. There is much more freedom and less requirement to paint up 40 or 50 executioners or Savage Orcs just to field a functional list. I find there are far more positives on in the hobby side of things than negatives, and am looking forward to an opportunity to model themed tables to suit the new expanded universe

On the rules front however, I am sadly disappointed. I like a challenging game and regularly play tournament games. I find to enjoy these games I need a structure to build under and have always shy'ed away from systems based on ambiguity (like panel/peer comp). The simplicity of the rules is a great concept, but the execution has a lot to be desired. The lack of model interaction is a real downside, and the absence of strategic moving is a major change. Sure there are some tactics that can be employed in the movement phase, but its reduced to gimick's like dragging neighboring units into combats and shield walls, the former more a result of poor rules writing. Its just too hard to organize a simple game let alone a tournament.

However there are many people/communities (including myself) that are revising the current rule set to make it more viable as a game.

But the community is the hardest one to judge. The NZ WHFB tournament scene has reacted poorly to the new game system, and it dose not yet seem to have made any inroads. In saying that, we are yet to see if new players will be attracted. 

So I am currently 50/50 about this game. Its a wait and see kinda deal atm.

All your base belong to me - GW releases AoS bases

Games Workshop will be releasing all the odd shaped bases this weekend for pre-order that match up with my basing chart.

It includes:
60x35mm
45x75mm (46x75mm)
90x50mm (90x52mm)
70x105mm
80mm
160mm
100mm
130mm
32mm (100 pack)
25mm (100 pack)

I will be updating my chart to version 2 to include the specific sizes and change a few to more suitable bases specifically the 90x52mm size for previous Monstrous Cavalry models on 50x100

Amazing new AoS scenery spotted

Somebody has their hands on some of the new unreleased scenery kits from Games Workshop for Age of Sigmar

The terrain and models so far for AoS have been outstanding. Now all we need is 2nd edition rules set to clean up the current mess...

Latest Rumours and Pictures from Age of Sigmar

This weeks Age of Sigmar leaks look towards revealing some more of the lore...

So it is indeed the Great Horned Rat that has ascended to become a true fallen God

And the Prince of Chaos, He is missing, his throne left vacant...

I never trusted those Dwarfs. Greedy little buggers...

But aparently they finally get some sort of cavalry. They ride Lava Beasts now...

The contents page of this weeks AoS Campaign book.

And finally some pictures of the new scenery frames. Note how they are in frames, and not cut out, indicating they are cast by GW themselves and not the cheap China stuff

 

Forgeworld & Black Library Webstores under construction?

We live in interesting times...